An inconvenience and awkward disposal problem is the removal of animal feces, particularly matter left on park lands, in gardens and in green areas which border sidewalk and roadways. Aside from the aesthetically undesirable aspects of picking up such matter from the ground, prior procedures for removing fecal matter have been inefficient and have posed potential health concerns.
Notwithstanding the development of pickup devices for animal excretia, prior means of removing fecal matter remain aesthetically undesirable, inefficient and potentially hazardous to human health. In particular it is noted that caretakers and public employees charged with the task of disposing large quantities of fecal matter often collect such matter, thus concentrating large amounts of the matter in small areas, creating potential health and disposal problems. In addition, the task of picking up such matter and depositing it in carry along receptacles for later disposal is inefficient and aesthetically undesirable labor even for pet owners.
Although some prior devices have been developed for removal of small quantities of fecal matter left by pets, e.g. see U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,740,086 and 4,383,710, such devices referred to at times as "pooper scoopers", have been based on the idea of picking the waste matter up and transferring it to a receptacle. The task of picking such matter up is made difficult, as noted in U.S. Pat. No. 4,383,710, by watery consistencies which also require rinsing of surfaces after the bulk of the matter is picked up.
Prior means of removal fecal matter by pressurized sprays, which dissolve the substances in water for subsequent absorption into the ground, are characterized by the visually undesirable feature of openly spraying fecal remains with a hose nozzle. Another disadvantage of this approach is that the remains splash or move about on the ground in response to the force of the water spray rather than breaking down into dissolvable pieces. In the past this spray approach has been particularly inefficient with dry animal feces which develop water impermeable surfaces and are more resistant to being broken down and dissolved. It is therefore desirable to have a covered device which confines the pressurized spray and separates the fecal matter into small pieces, thus limiting the movement of the deposits as well as rendering the spray process more effective.